The invention set forth in this specification pertains to new and improved shelf structures. More specifically it pertains to shelf structures which are primarily intended to be used in moving vehicles such as motor homes but which can be otherwise used.
Normally shelf structures are constructed so as to utilize one or more supports which are adapted to rest on a floor or the like to be secured on a wall or in a housing or other cabinet and so as to utilize one or more horizontally extending shelves mounted on a support or supports so that normally there is no relative movement between the latter and the former. Such structures have used for centuries, are highly utilitarian and are universally used for all manner of purposes.
Unfortunately it is considered that such "normal" shelf structures are not overly desirable for use in some application in a moving vehicle such as a motor home, a travel trailer or the like because it is relative easy for any article placed on a shelf in such a shelf structure to slide off of it as the vehicle is operated. In may cases articles are retained on shelves in such vehicles by the use of various physical barriers such as doors, rails, elastic cords or the like. Such expedients are also highly utilitarian.
But it is considered that they are also they are some what undesirable in that they either have to be moved away from the front of a shelf to gain access to the shelf or in that they tend to hinder the placement of articles on shelves or the removal of articles from shelves. Further, in a few applications such expedients are undesirable in that they do not solve the problem of how to provide a shelf in an "out of the way" location such as a wall in a small room or area which can be easily positioned away from such a wall in order to facilitate access to the shelf.
While the latter problem can be solved by means such as specialized, movable mountings for a shelf such means do not solve the problem of retaining articles on shelves in an operating vehicle. It is normally undesirable to provide such a mounting means along with a specialized retainer or barrier serving to tend to hold articles on a shelf because of the cost and complexity of a shelf structure employing both of these types of expedients.